Culinary appliance shelf unit

ABSTRACT

The invention provides an improved shelf unit for electrical, and other, kitchen appliances adapted to be supported on the wall or to rest on the work surface of a counter or of a floor cabinet. The shelf is hollow, and its interior space is adapted to house electrical outlets and cables as well as tools accessory to appliances normally stored on the shelf of the unit.

United States Patent [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,205,032 9/1965 Leigh 312/223 3,317,259 5/1967 Otis 312/223 3,464,749 9/1969 Bishop 312/223 X Primary ExaminerPatrick D. Lawson Attorney-Pierce, Scheffler & Parker 72] Inventor Theodor K. L. Amberg Wasserloser strasse 15, 8755 Alzenau, Germany [21 1 App]. No. 838,503

[22] Filed July 2, 1969 [45] Patented Sept. 28, 1971 [32] Priority July 5, 1968 [33] Germany [54] CULINARY APPLIANCE SHELF UNIT 4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[51] Int. Cl A471) 77/08 [50] Field of Search... 312/223;

CULINARY APPLIANCE SHELF UNIT This invention relates to kitchen storage equipment, and is concerned with the provision of an improved shelf unit for cu-- linary appliances including electrical appliances.

The unit either (1) is secured to the wall of the kitchen above a counter, or range or other work surface, or (2) is fixed to the rear part of such counter or its equivalent. In either event, the shelf unit is hollow and is so configured that its upper surface is essentially horizontal and is adapted to function as a shelf support for appliances of the aforesaid nature, while the interior of the unit contains an electrical outlet and/or electrical conductor and likewise provides a storage for accessories to the aforesaid appliances and/or other relatively small culinary equipment.

The concept of the invention is to provide a shelf unit having a hollow space within it, in which space sockets, junctions, and terminals are or may be placed and still be big enough to house pieces of connection cable that are not needed outside of it. The hollow shelves being provided at their fronts with flaps, hinged doors, sliding doors or drawer fronts, their interiors are readily accessible to reach cables or sockets and the like.

The hollow space can be produced in different measures, i.e., either as a complete assembly or as a set consisting of components. It can be constructed of wood or metal or plastics as well as of a combination of two or more of these materials. At least one electrical outlet (plug socket) can be located outside each shelf unit. Several short hollow shelves can be fastened together, end-to-end, whereby to provide a long shelf unit.

An aperture located in the shelf of the unit or in the front closure member of the unit provides a passageway for an electrical connection between an electrical outlet disposed in the interior of the unit and an electrical appliance normally resting on top of the shelf unit.

One technical advantage is that the complete shelf unit may be mounted at any convenient place on the wall as well as above a table or counter, but also as shelf and partition, respectively.

The invention makes possible a special security in the use of electrical appliances connected to current sources. Also, one can respectively keep the cables as short as possible and they will not disturb ones work because of their shortness. Moreover, the security prescriptions of each country could be observed; particularly, the internal sockets normally will be placed at the rear of the hollow space and hence will not be accessible to children.

A further advantage consists in the largely invisible and concealed attachment of the sockets in the interior of the shelf unit, with only one line for all internal and external sockets; also, the readiness for use as well as the direct storing of the connected appliances at the workplace.

The invention will now be described in greater detail and with reference to the appended drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of a preferred embodiment of the shelf unit of the present invention, the doors to the interior of the unit being closed;

F IG. 2 is a top plan view of the unit, with one door in open position, and showing electrical connection between an electrical outlet within the space of the unit and an electrical appliance resting on the shelf per se of the unit; and

FIG. 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

The shelf unit illustrated in FIG. 1 consists of an elongated relatively very shallow, housing having generally horizontal top and bottom walls 11 and 12 respectively, and end walls 13 and 14. The rear (normally hidden) side may be closed by a rear wall 15 or this latter may be omitted in any instance wherein the unit is to be permanently fixed to a wall (in which event the kitchen wall per se constitutes the rear wall of the housing). The front wall of the housing is, in the illustrated embodiment, formed by two side-by-side doors 16 and 17 each of which is adapted independently to be opened and closed. As shown, these doors are hingedly connected to the forward edge of bottom wall 12 by conventional hinges l8, 18,

and adapted to be maintained in closed position by conventional retainer means 20, 20, e.g., magnet-type retainers. Buttonlike pulls 21, 21 are provided on the outside surface of the door, at a locus close to the retainer means. Hinges l8, 18 may if desired have such fonn as to provide for a limited, e.g., pivotal action of the door, so that the door when in open position constitutes in effect a forward extension of the bottom wall of the shelf unit. 7

Within the unit and preferably at a locus remote from the closure (door) of the space there is provided at least one electrical outlet 25 which is connected, by suitable house wiring, not shown, to a source of house current. The outlets are or may be provided at spaced intervals along the inner surface of the rear wall 15 of the unit, in such position that a connector can be plugged in to an outlet exposed by an opened door. For purposes of such connection, apertures 26, 26 are provided at spaced intervals along the forward edge of top wall 11 any of which apertures can accommodate a relatively short conductor 27 connecting an electrical appliance 28 (e.g., an electri cal coffee maker as illustrated) to an adjacent outlet 25.

As will be obvious to the reader, the shelf unit of the present invention may be provided in the form of a single elongated housing, or the final shelf unit may be built up" by associating a plurality of units in end-to-end relation, at least some of which units-but not necessarily all of which units-each contain at least one electrical outlet and have an aperture for connecting to such outlet an electrical appliance normally resting on the shelf part of the unit.

The expression electrical appliances is meant to include such equipment (found in the modern kitchen) as toasters; coffee makers; coffee mills; can openers; mixers; homogenizers, and the like. In this connection it should be particularly noted that an important object of the invention is to provide means for housing the electrical device on a shelf closely adjacent to the counter top or to the cooking top (or, oven) while providing a normally closed storage space for accessory equipment. Thus, the electrical mixer may rest on the shelf part of the unit, and be plugged in to an associated outlet by a comparatively short length of conductor-so that when in use the mixer may if desired be moved from the shelf to, say, an adjacent locus on the counter top-while the separable beaters are housed, out of sight yet immediately available, in the interior of the shelf unit.

The invention includes, further, the optional feature that an additional electrical outlet may be mounted in the door of the unit or beneath the bottom wall of the unit or flush in l the upper surface of the top wall of the unit or in an end wall of the unit, as described.

Finally, while in its preferred embodiment the invention is concerned with a unit the hollow interior of which is closed by a hinged door, it is recognized that the closure may if desired be in the form of a slidable panel the direction of the sliding being either parallel to the major axis of the unit or normal to the latter. Finally, the hereinbefore described bottom wall" of the unit and the hereinbefore described door may, if desired, be omitted and there be substituted therefor a drawer slidable into and out of said interior space.

I claim:

1. A shelf unit for electrical appliances for culinary use, said unit being a hollow shelf comprising a housing secured to and projecting outwardly from a kitchen wall, said housing being substantially elongated and having a depth which is considerably greater than is its height and having a generally horizontal top wall a generally horizontal bottom wall, two generally vertical opposed end walls and a generally vertical closure member which in normal position obstructs the interior of the housing from view; and r at least one electrical outlet mounted in the interior of said housing, said outlet being accessible when said closure member is not in position to obstruct the interior from view;

said closure member being adapted to be moved into and out of obstructing position.

2. A shelf unit for electrical appliances for culinary use, said unit being a hollow shelf comprising a housing secured to and projecting outwardly from a kitchen'wall said housing being substantially elongated and having a depth which is considerably greater than is its height and having a generally horizontal top wall a generally horizontal bottom wall, two generally vertical opposed end walls and a generally vertical closure member which in normal position obstructs the interior of the housing from view, said closure member being a door pivotally connected by hinge means to an edge of one of said generally horizontal wall; and

at least one electrical outlet mounted in the interior of said housing, said outlet being accessible when said closure member is not in position to obstruct the interior from view;

said closure member being adapted to be moved into and out of obstructing position.

3. A shelf unit for electrical appliances for culinary use, said unit being a hollow shelf comprising a housing secured to and projecting outwardly from a kitchen wall said housing being substantially elongated and having a depth which is considerably greater than is its height and having a generally horizontal top wall and a generally horizontal bottom wall, two generally vertical opposed end walls and a generally vertical closure member which in normal position obstructs the interior of the housing from view, said closure member being a drawer slidable into and out of said housing; and

at least one electrical outlet mounted in the interior of said housing, said outlet being accessible when said closure member is not in position to obstruct the interior from view;

said closure member being adapted to be moved into and out of obstructing position.

4. A shelf unit for electrical appliances for culinary use, said unit being a hollow shelf comprising a housing secured to and projecting outwardly from a kitchen wall said housing being substantially elongated and having a depth which is considerably greater than is its height and having a generally horizontal top wall'and a generally horizontal bottom wall, two generally vertical opposed end walls and a generally vertical closure member which in normal position obstructs the interior of the housing from view; and

at least one electrical outlet mounted in the interior of said housing, said outlet being accessible when said closure.

member is not in position to obstruct the interior from view;

said closure member being adapted to be moved into and out of obstructing position;

one of said walls having therein an aperture for connecting to said outlet a piece of electrical cul'mary equipment normally stored on the upper surface of the top wall of said housing. 1 a 

1. A shelf unit for electrical appliances for culinary use, said unit being a hollow shelf comprising a housing secured to and projecting outwardly from a kitchen wall, said housing being substantially elongated and having a depth which is considerably greater than is its height and having a generally horizontal top wall a generally horizontal bottom wall, two generally vertical opposed end walls and a generally vertical closure member which in normal position obstructs the interior of the housing from view; and at least one electrical outlet mounted in the interior of said housing, said outlet being accessible when said closure member is not in position to obstruct the interior from view; said closure member being adapted to be moved into and out of obstructing position.
 2. A shelf unit for electrical appliances for culinary use, said unit being a hollow shelf comprising a housing secured to and projecting outwardly from a kitchen wall said housing being substantially elongated and having a depth which is considerably greater than is its height and having a generally horizontal top wall a generally horizontal bottom wall, two generally vertical opposed end walls and a generally vertical closure member which in normal position obstructs the interior of the housing from view, said closure member being a door pivotally connected by hinge means to an edge of one of said generally horizontal walls; and at least one electrical outlet mounted in the interior of said housing, said outlet being accessible when said closure member is not in position to obstruct the interior from view; said closure member being adapted to be moved into and out of obstructing position.
 3. A shelf unit for electrical appliances for culinary use, said unit being a hollow shelf comprising a housing secured to and projecting outwardly from a kitchen wall said housing being substantially elongated and having a depth which is considerably greater than is its height and having a generally horizontal top wall and a generally horizontal bottom wall, two generally vertical opposed end walls and a generally vertical closure member which in normal position obstructs the interior of the housing from view, said closure member being a drawer slidable into and out of said housing; and at least one electrical outlet mounted in the interior of said housing, said outlet being accessible when said closure member is not in position to obstruct the interior from view; said closure member being adapted to be moved into and out of obstructing position.
 4. A shelf unit for electrical appliances for culinary use, said unit being a hollow shelf comprising a housing secured to and projecting outwardly from a kitchen wall said housing being substantially elongated and having a depth which is considerably greater than is its height and having a generally horizontal top wall and a generally horizontal bottom wall, two generally vertical opposed end walls and a generally vertical closure member which in normal position obstructs the interior of the housing from view; and at least one electrical outlet mounted in the interior of said housing, said outlet being accessible when said closure member is not in position to obstruct the interior from view; said closure member being adapted to be moved into and out of obstructing position; one of said walls having therein an aperture for connecting to said outlet a piece of electrical culinary equipment normally stored on the upper surface of the top wall of said houSing. 